


A Rose Blooms On The World Tree

by Benfrosh



Category: Granblue Fantasy (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Polyamory, a century or so is slow burn right, sex mention, this is the most words i've ever written for a non-oc fic in one go
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:55:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27125522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Benfrosh/pseuds/Benfrosh
Summary: The story of how Rose Queen and Yggdrasil first met, and how their relationship developed over the five hundred years since the War.
Relationships: Rosetta/Yggdrasil (Granblue Fantasy)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22





	1. 500 Years Ago

Rose Queen slowly regained her consciousness. She couldn't afford any moment of weakness - the skydwellers were getting closer every second, and she was being pushed back far more than she expected. She shook her head to clear out the ringing in her ears from the loud explosion, and her vision slowly cleared as she assessed her situation.

Ah. She was falling.

As she helplessly spun around in the air currents, she saw the island she had left behind far off in the distance above her. Airships circled the island, bombarding the island, as smoke billowed up into the clouds - probably the entire forest was on fire at this point. In a way, she had to count her blessings, as she couldn't have survived the conflagration. As is, she had managed to escape - 'escape' - with major burns and bruising, but still alive - barely. 

She reached one arm out towards the island, desperately hoping that she could somehow reach it despite the distance, trying to push through the pain. While she should be focusing on dealing with those pressing issues, she couldn't help but feel a sharp pang of regret shoot through her heart. She had been entrusted with a single mission upon her creation: protect the island's research facility at all costs. She hadn't known what was in there - that was not part of her responsibilities at all - but that didn't change the fact that she let down all of the Astrals who worked there. The odds that they would survive without her protection were... well, they made her for a reason.

Rose Queen closed her eyes and let her sorrow pass her way over her. Just because she had failed didn't mean she had to die. If she survived, she could... well, she didn't know what the Astrals would do with a failed primal beast. Another future problem. Right now, she needed to stop falling. If she hit the Crimson Horizon - if she hit _anything_ at this speed, she'd be lucky if she just went into hibernation. More likely, her core would shatter, and that would be it for her. Not even a year old... 

She opened her eyes. Time to survive. With a wave of her hand, she manifested a vine from within herself. Concentrating on it, she encouraged it to bloom into its full glory. Petal after petal erupted from the tip, and it transformed into a giant, magnificent rose. The rose's leaves, fiercely billowing, caught the air current she was falling through, and slowed her descent, but only somewhat. Rose Queen took a deep breath. She needed to capture the spirit of the dandelion, to drift gently on the wind. She needed... surface area. With another twist, she scattered the petals of the rose - they were doing nothing for slowing her descent as is. She gently guided them to attach themselves to the leaves, forming a giant umbrella, praying that this could somehow catch a thermal, and... breathing a sigh of relief as she slowed down, bit by bit.

Before long, her descent had slowed down to a manageable speed. She wouldn't die from falling, at least. That just left the Crimson Horizon. At her current speed, she guessed that she'd have a few hours before the point of no return. She considered taking a moment to rest, but she could feel that if she closed her eyes now, she would never open them again. She scanned the horizon for places to go. She didn't see any airships chasing her or blocking her escape, a small blessing, but without a place to land...

* * *

An hour passed, and her situation failed to improve. No one was chasing her, but she wasn't any closer to surviving. She was starting to enter a cloud bank, and while that'd help her evade any passing skydweller patrols, it'd also limit her field of vision, and she needed to find somewhere to land _soon_. Her navigation abilities were too crude, however, reduced to tilting her rose parachute slightly to slowly glide, leaving her little choice in the matter. As she entered the clouds, she took the time to draw upon the water in them through her rose, and ith the elemental water inside it, began tending to her wounds. Her healing magic was limited at best, but it would at the very least prevent her from succumbing to her wounds.

That healing, however, prevented her from paying attention to her surroundings. With little warning at all, she felt her leg hit something solid in the cloudbank. Panicking, she tried to tilt away from it, but a sudden gust of wind pushed her into a large tree that was somehow reaching up into the clouds - a marvel of nature she'd love normally, but one that betrayed her as her delicate parachute smashed to pieces against it. Falling once more, she slammed into branch after branch, bouncing down as she desperately tried to catch on to something, before landing with a loud thump on the ground. She let out a loud groan as pain shot through her back, every muscle screaming as she bled from dozens of tiny scratches.

The ground.

She made it.

She pulled a rose bush barrier up over herself and went to sleep.


	2. 490 Years Ago

Rose Queen woke up.

She had no idea how long she had been unconscious, but at the very least she knew that seasons had passed since her landing - she could feel the protective rose barrier she had pulled over herself thrumming with the vibrant energy of spring, in contrast to the autumn . She considered hiding underneath it longer to assess the situation, but in the end decided there was no point to it. She could feel her power returned to her, and her burns and wounds from her escape healed over. She was at no immediate risk from any attack. She pulled back the rose bush and rose to her feet, examining the surroundings.

To her surprise, she had fallen into a most fortuitous landing location. A lush, vibrant forest, rich with colorful flora and trees that scraped the clouds. The trunks of the trees were easily larger around than even her in her battle form, and reached higher than she could possibly fly. Beams of light broke through the tree canopy, illuminating a babbling brook that passed nearby her crash landing. She had considered her home island a jewel of nature, but this place was a step further beyond. 

Crouching down to examine the forest bed, she found a small ring of mushrooms that had grown around her. As she poked further, she noticed that the soil she had bedded in was dark and rich - unusually rich, she noted to herself as she extended a root into the ground, even compared to the area around her. And she had gotten exceedingly lucky landing near a river - she needed water to survive, and nowhere near enough for her would have reached the ground through the forest canopy. She doubted any of those were things she had done unconsciously, as while she had control over nature, it wasn't in that way - she could control plants, not fungi and dirt. Standing up once more, she looked around. No sign of any fauna running around, but a place like this going completely uninhabited was unlikely. She doubted she had randomly landed in a suspicious spot. Something had happened here, to - help her survive?

Rose Queen sighed as she took in her surroundings. Surviving was all well and good, but what was she going to do now? She had no idea if she would be attacked again, she had no idea if the Astrals would take her back, she had no idea if the war was even still on-going - the research facility wasn't supposed to be anywhere near the front lines, so she knew that the Astrals were majorly on the back foot even then. 

In the end, there was only one conclusion she could reach - she didn't have enough information. She needed _something_ to base a decision on, and right now all she had was herself. She decided to begin following the river downstream, hoping that she'd find some kind of settlement along it. If not... well, it was something to do, at any rate. 

Rose Queen pursed her lips as she walked. One thing she was certain of - her military days were definitely over. Being on the end of those bombs had _hurt_ , and she never wanted to partake in that kind of large-scale violence ever again. She hadn't had much of a choice on her creation, nor had she had any particular reason to disagree with her assigned role, but now she was absolutely certain that they couldn't ever-

A large _thud_ resounded through the forest, and Rose Queen suddenly froze in place. For a second, she wanted to lie to herself and just say that it was a tree falling. Perfectly natural. But as it was promptly followed by another, slightly louder _thud_ , and another, and another, she knew that even if those were trees that she should be _very concerned_. She quickly retreated from the riverbank and crouched in the shadow cast by a large shrub nearby.

As she watched in the direction of the sounds, she saw... a woman? A cute pink haired woman, with twin tailed hair trailing behind her as she walked. She worse a large green ribbon on her head, with a small accessory on top that made the whole arrangement look like a budding flower. She was wearing a translucent dress that shimmered in the soft light of the forest, with a bright green and blue fringe trailing down the center, outlining her belly button, going down into a beautiful blue skirt. 

Somehow, Rose Queen managed to take all that in before processing the most obvious fact of all. This woman was _enormous_ , easily eight to ten times Rose Queen's height even at full power. She was unquestionably a fellow primal of Rose Queen's, which was both a good and bad thing. It meant that primals weren't all wiped out, but it meant that she had no idea whose side the primal was on. She had heard rumors of primals defecting during the war... could this be one of them?

As Rose Queen thought, the giant continued walking upstream, past Rose Queen's hiding spot. She held her breath and suppressed her magic as strongly as she could, praying that the giant would pass. Her fears seemed to be for naught, however, as the giant seemed to be lost in her own world, singing a tune of soft chimes as she proceeded past to where Rose Queen had landed.

Rose Queen's mind raced. She had two options - see where the giant had come from, or see where she was going. If she went where the giant came from, maybe she could find other primals, find evidence of what the giant was doing, maybe get more information, and avoid being spotted - but she might lose track of the giant, her only lead entirely, especially if this size was a temporary form. If she went where the giant was going, maybe she could find out if this was whatever helped take care of her, or if not see what she was currently up to - assuming she didn't get crushed in the process. 

In the end, one factor made Rose Queen choose. No one that cute could be violent, could they?

Following the giant back upstream where Rose Queen came from, she made sure to keep a safe distance just in case, but her earlier fear and confusion were being replaced by a cat-like curiousity into who this could be. She thought she would have been informed about any other primals with similar natural powers as her, but she definitely had never heared about anyone like this. She might have been a traitor that they refused to speak of, or a failed experiment - Rose Queen had heard of many of those - or possibly even just a guard of an island that had never been visited by the war. Whatever the case, she almost wanted to leap out and say hello now, but her earlier caution was still sitting there, warning there that hey, maybe don't just surprise people in the middle of nowhere when you're not sure what's going on? She'd curse herself for being a spoilsport if it was anyone else telling her to do that. But as it was, she had no choice but to heed her internal wet blanket.

The giant came to a stop right where Rose Queen had landed, and Rose Queen moved to a better position so she could see what the giant was doing - though that description failed to apply very shortly, as in a bright glow the girl reverted down to a more skydweller sized form like the one Rose Queen was currently using. She kneeled down to look at the mushroom circle marking the place where Rose Queen had been sleeping, and then she - pouted? It was an adorable pout, to be sure, but the sad frown and mournful eyes tugged at Rose Queen's heart strings. With a wave of her hand, the girl dismissed the mushrooms and stood up once more. She stared at the sun in thought for a while, before humming a happy-sounding chime as her face brightened once more. Whatever had made her sad was past, and with a grin she wandered off in another direction entirely.

Rose Queen followed her without hesitation, of course.


	3. 460 Years Ago

It took several decades for Rose Queen to piece together enough to learn what had happened while she was unconscious. Part of that was due to the remote location she had fallen: a lumberjack expedition a few years in mentioned the name of the island, Lumacie, and how it was actually part of a larger archipelago of smaller fractured islands. While highly valued for its natural resources, unique fauna, and amazing beauty, those factors also made actually settling the land controversial at best and impossible at worst. As such, very few people maintained permanent residence on Lumacie, instead generally choosing to reside on other islands not overrun by nature. The ones that do, however, had built treetop villages, hanging near the surface of the tree canopy to maximize sun and rain collection while avoiding any wild beasts that prowled on the ground. 

Rose Queen, in what she found awfully bold of herself, had actually made contact with them. While she was young and inexperienced, she had been given all of the Astral's knowledge about skydweller behavior, on the grounds that she may need to blend in with them to not appear as a primal beast on sight, so that she could better protect the secret research base. Assuming the identity of a skydweller herbalist named Rosetta, she had visited a few of those villages to build a rapport with them and collect information. Unfortunately, the people who did live here were as disconnected from current events as she was - they had heard of the war from the passing lumberjacks, but the information was several degrees removed from anything resembling a primary source. 

What she did learn, however, was the name they called the giant primal she had found - Yggdrasil. The old women that Rosetta played bridge with twelve years in had thanked Yggdrasil for being the one that had protected them from the war ever reaching the islands, but under further questioning couldn't attribute it to any one act, merely a divine presence. A lumberjack Rosetta seduced twenty-three years in said he had never seen her in person, but claimed she had been here long before anyone had dared approach the island. A merchant Rosetta sold herbs to to build a rupie stockpile described a time that her airship was under attack from a herd of monsters before a loud chime scared them off, and in the distance Yggdrasil was glaring daggers at the group before disappearing. Altogether, the picture Rose Queen was forming was one of a benevolent primal whose job was nothing more than protecting these islands and the people, skydweller or Astral, who settled here - a sentry who was placed here by a passing Astral colonizer and promptly forgotten.

What drove Rose Queen to action, in the end, was what she heard from a skydweller military ship thirty years into her new life. As they docked at the only natural harbor on the largest island in the archipelago, she appeared before them in her Rosetta disguise. "Hello there, soldiers," she greeted them as the armorclad men shuffled off the ship, obviously startled to see anyone. "What brings you here to Lumacie? Are you in need of medical supplies? Food?"

The leader, as indicated by a red plume on his helmet, stepped forward. "We are here on the behalf of Albion, to secure the area and ensure there are no Astral remnants left. Do you happen to know if there were any bases here?" His men shuffled out around him, carrying the materials to set up camp. One stopped before passing Rosetta, however, obviously staring at the basket of nuts she was carrying.

Rosetta giggled and shook her head, as she offered the hungry man his pick of the bounty. "There are barely two dozen people on the island, all fellow skydwellers. I don't think there's ever been an Astral here, in all honesty. But shouldn't you be out on the front lines, fighting?"

The captain laughed. "Fighting what?"

Rosetta tilted her head in confusion. "The Astrals? Isn't there a great war going on?"

"This place must be more isolated than I thought, if you're working on news that old," the captain laughed as Rosetta internally seethed. "The war's been over for thirty years now. I was barely a lad when it happened, but even I learned about the sudden disappearances within a week."

Rosetta blinked. "The what?" She barely noticed that her food basket was now empty of nuts but full of rupies.

"They're all gone, as far as we can tell. Every last Astral in the world. No one would believe it at first, but everywhere we've checked they've just... disappeared. Mind, we've still been cleaning up their strongholds, booby traps, horrible monsters, berserk primal beasts, but as far as we can tell that was it. We won, somehow."

Rose Queen took the weeks they were here to extract all the information she could as they did their survey of the island. They had originally planned on covering the whole island, but with her testimony and the unavoidable fact that this place was a nightmare to navigate, they were going to report back that there was no point scouring the islands. After the disappearance, a large amount of primals were left masterless and either went berserk trying to follow orders or simply lived out their lives quietly as the skydwellers gave them a large berth. (She hoped she could fall in the latter category.) Recovering from the war was taking far longer than the war itself took - many people died in the violence, and a lot of islands were giant traps that consumed everyone they sent in to reclaim them. Bit by bit, however, skydwellers were reclaiming the skies for themselves. 

As she waved goodbye to the patrol as they left the island, she considered her options. The Astrals were gone. Her mission was definitely over. She had nowhere to return to. What was she going to do now? Her goal for the last thirty years was just continuing to survive and figuring out what was going on. Now all she had left was... surviving? She couldn't be happy with that alone. Living among the skydwellers was out of the question - she would live far too long and not age any one bit, and she'd promptly use up all her covers with how small the population was on Lumacie. Getting to another island might give her more time, but a life on the run like that seemed far too daunting. She needed... What did she need? She pondered as she returned to exploring the forest, learning more about her new home. She needed...

A happy chime surprised her as she thought. She realized with a shock that she hadn't been paying attention - she had been cloaking her presence whenever she had detected Yggdrasil passing by, until she knew more about her allegiances, but had completely forgotten to while distracted. As she turned around, she saw the giant primal peeking between two trees and smiling in glee at finding Rose Queen, waving her hand politely and carefully as to not knock over any of the giant oaks. The cover of Rosetta was useless here - a primal knew a fellow primal on sight. 

But what was Rose Queen so afraid of? Yggdrasil was the one who protected her when she landed. The war was over. Neither of them had any master to report to anymore. Rose Queen laughed and waved back at the friendly giant. "Nice to finally meet you."

Yggdrasil glowed and shrunk back down to her skydweller form and chirped delightedly as she approached Rose Queen, before pulling her into a big hug. Rose Queen jumped a bit at the unexpected contact, but - it was nice being hugged forthrightly for once, instead of while she was manipulating someone. She returned the hug, enjoying the first frank personal contact she'd had in 40 years. 

As Yggdrasil pulled back, chiming happily, Rose Queen tilted her head in confusion. "I don't mean to be rude, but can you speak?"

Yggdrasil shook her head, pouting. 

"Aw, it's okay, dear," Rose Queen replied reassuringly, patting her head. "It's not your fault speech wasn't installed on you. Is it okay if I lead the conversation for a bit?"

Yggdrasil nodded with a happy chime.

"Do you recognize me at all?" Nod. "From when I landed?" Nod. "So you were the one who took care of me?" Enthusiastic nod. Rose Queen smiled, enjoying Yggdrasil's bouyant spirit. "Well, thanks for helping tend to me. I'm not sure what would have happened to me without your help." Yggdrasil grinned back. "I'm sorry I hid from you for so long - things were just very scary when I landed, and I wasn't sure who I could trust." A solemn nod in response. "Are there any other primals here?" Head shake. "So it's just you and me, then?" Nod. Rosetta sighed. She didn't want to be the one to break the news to Yggdrasil, but... "Have you heard the news about the Astrals?" Head shake. "They're gone. All of them."

Yggdrasil didn't respond immediately. Her eyes unfocused as she stared into the middle distance past Rose Queen. She knew the same thoughts were racing through Yggdrasil's brain as much as her own. The two of them were created to serve the Astrals, and that was their entire purpose in life. With that gone, they were left adrift on their own, with no one to guide them or protect them, except...

Rose Queen took Yggdrasil's hands in her own. "It's okay to be scared. I'm scared too. But I'm here, too. We're both here. Let's make this our new home, okay? We'll watch out for each other, and keep each other safe. And together, we'll find a new purpose in life."

Yggdrasil's eyes focused once more, and Rose Queen could swear she saw tears forming in them. But Yggdrasil smiled nonetheless, and chimed happily with a fierce nod. Rose Queen couldn't help but smile back, feeling the warmth going through Yggdrasil's hands.


	4. 390 Years Ago

Rose Queen and Yggdrasil had settled into a comfortable routine of life. It took time for them to feel comfortable in their new lives, but in the end they had found a task that pleased the two of them well. Yggdrasil had decided that, with no reason to drastically change her life, she would continue protecting and developing the forests of Lumacie, making it the most beautiful nature preserve she could. Rose Queen had decided to join her in the task, developing colorful flowers and seeding them across the entire forest. Yggdrasil had the power to encourage and develop growth, but she didn't have specific control over flowers like Rose Queen did, and she turned the verdant green of the forest into a colorful rainbow.

As a side project, Rose Queen had also been teaching Yggdrasil what she knew of Astral Sign Language. She had never met anyone who practiced it, only knowing it from the textbooks the Astrals had loaded into her brain, but it was still enough for the two of them to communicate. Yggdrasil had little to add to her story that Rose Queen hadn't already guessed, however - she had, in fact, been left here by the first Astral colonizers, but then forgotten about as no permanent colony was ever formed on the archipelago. She had spent over a thousand years by herself, before one day Rose Queen landed here. She was delighted that another primal had arrived, but could sense Rose Queen's injuries, and did what she could to make the environment safer for Rose Queen to heal. When she disappeared, Yggdrasil was saddened that she hadn't said goodbye, but assumed that she must have had urgent business to attend to, and went back to her normal life. Now, however, she was delighted to be together again, and nervous but excited about the future.

Today's schedule wasn't particularly packed, just like every other day. Yggdrasil had been working on gently reshaping a river so that it went through the middle of an open glenn to encourage the animals to gather there, and had been carefully sculpting the dirt around it for weeks now. Rose Queen had been working on the glenn itself for a month or so, but recently had to deal with some lumberjacks who were getting near there. The two had no issue with the lumberjacks, as for generations they had been respectful of the land, but they didn't want skydweller scent to pollute the pristine area before the local animals moved in. 

Thus it was that, as Rosetta, she had been dealing with the lumberjacks at the local temporary camp. She had been insinuating herself with them as Rosetta, the lonely herbalist with no one to keep her company in the large, isolating forest. She was currently sleeping with the two heads of the expedition - a married couple that were a bit more flexible in their relationship (and in bed) than the average skydweller. Something she had learned about herself in the last century was that she enjoyed both sex and romance with people far more than the average primal. She wasn't sure if that was an intentional part of her training to blend in with skydwellers, but she was happy to discover a hobby she enjoyed so much. Plus, it let her get close enough to them to spread the rumor of a massive monster that had taken residence in the area that would attack anyone who approached. Surely after the next winter it would move on, but better to avoid it to be safe for now?

As night fell, Rose Queen stumbled her way back into the forest, unsteady from an evening of debauchery as a farewell before the lumberjacks left the island. The parting was the only part of the romance that Rose Queen disliked - she always had to put an end to things, as any long relationship would inevitably end either in her being discovered or the skydweller... leaving her, to avoid putting a fine point on it. A relationship between a primal and a skydweller was never something that could last as long as the primal wanted. So instead she merely enjoyed the times she had, as happy memories in a life well lived.

As she came closer to the glenn where they had been working, she found Yggdrasil crouching by the edge of a small trickle. Weeks of effort were beginning to pay off, and the water had finally been slightly diverted into the clearing. With time, the water would erode the path further and further, and it would grow in size until it finally became a pleasing centerpiece. Another beautiful work of art complete. Yggdrasil looked up as Rose Queen approached, and waved with a big grin on her face, pleased as always to see her islandmate. "Welcome back, Rosie," Yggdrasil signed. 

"Pleased to be back, Yggy," Rose Queen signed back. Rosie and Yggy were short signs the two of them had come up with to refer to each other. The signs for Rose Queen and Yggdrasil were annoyingly long for short conversation, and Rose Queen - Rosie - thought it'd be fun to have a name for each other other than the ones they had been assigned by the long-gone Astrals. Yggy had enjoyed the thought as well, and the two had a great month coming up with variations on their names. "How was your day?"

"Very good!" Yggy signed emphatically. "I found a really cool rock while I was working on the river, I want to show you it later."

"Sounds like a great plan. I'm looking forward to it."

Yggy's smile lessened slightly. "Are you okay? You look a bit out of sorts," Yggy signed, her hands hesitating with the words. "Did something go wrong?"

Rosie laughed it off. "No, not at all. Everything went amazingly - it just took a lot of energy. I'll be okay with a bit of rest."

"What were you doing with them, anyways?"

Rosie paused to evaluate Yggy's expression. She didn't know exactly what tone Yggy meant with the question, but... well, no point in hiding secrets with Yggy. "I was having sex with them before they left the island. I had a great time."

Yggy's brow furrowed. "Why were you doing that?"

"Do you know what sex - sex," she added verbally as she emphasized the sign, "is?"

"That's what skydwellers do to have children, right?"

Rosie giggled a bit as she approached Yggy and crouched by her. "Yes it is, but skydweller bodies are also designed to really enjoy having sex, to encourage them to have more children. As such, they often do it with no intention of having children at all, just for the fun of it."

Yggy's face crinkled up in confusion (adorably, Rosie thought). "And you like it too?"

Rosie nodded. "My body is designed a lot like normal skydwellers, so that I could mingle with them better. I picked up that enjoyment too."

"Do you think I'd like it?"

Rosie's mind ground to a halt. Yggy had asked that question so innocently and without hesitation that she doubted that Yggy thought anything of where it'd be leading, but... "I'm not sure. Even different skydwellers react to it differently, and primals are altogether something else."

Yggy pouted. "But I have a skydweller form just like you do, though. Couldn't I have the same feeling as you?"

"That's not impossible, but..." Rosetta's hands trailed off. "Sex is generally something you share with someone you love."

"Did you love those people?"

Rosie internally smacked herself. "No, I didn't. I just really wanted to."

"And I really want to. Besides, I love you, so that's fine."

Rosie's hands seized up. "Sorry, could you say that again?" she finally got out on autopilot.

"I love you. Don't you love me?" she added, with a slightly sad face. "Love is when you want to be with someone forever, right? I want to be with you forever. Do you not?"

Rosie's mind raced, but her hands focused on answering the question. "I don't want to leave you. Being with you has been great, and I really enjoy our life together."

"So you do, then?" Yggy smiled, and Rosie suspected that at some point Yggy had gotten several steps ahead of her.

"I think I generally thought of love as having more of a sexual component as well... but that's a bit of a chicken and the egg definition, isn't it? Have sex with someone you love, you love someone you want to have sex with."

"You don't even have to be wrong, you know," Yggy continued. "Let's try it and see what happens. I don't mean to make this all a big deal - if you feel like I'm making our relationship weird, you can just say no. I absolutely don't want you to feel uncomfortable, or that I'm being pushy."

"No, no, it's okay," Rosie answered. "I don't think you've done anything bad, I just hadn't considered our relationship as... love, before. It's just a lot to realize at once."

"What can I do to help you feel better?"

Rosie stared into Yggy's face. Her eyes glimmered - not innocently, as she would have thought a few minutes ago, but in an earnest seeking, looking for any way she could help Rosie be happy. Yggy.. really wanted her to be happy. The two had found each other in a vulnerable time, and together they had built a new life. What else could that be, but love? She took Yggy's chin in one hand and gently stroked it. Yggy's eyes closed shut as she chimed happily at being stroked. 

"May I kiss you?" Rosie asked out loud.

Yggy nodded.

Rosie leaned in, locking her lips with Yggy's own. They tasted like pine. The first person she had ever kissed to taste like that.

* * *

As the two laid on the forest bed, staring up at the night sky, Yggy was the first to break the silence that had settled between them. "That was interesting, but I don't think I want to do it again. It felt kind of... weird," she added after a brief pause of her hands.

Rosie nodded and gently patted Yggy's cheeks. "That's perfectly alright," she signed back. "Sex isn't everyone's cup of tea."

"Would you still like me to do that to you sometimes? If it's for you, I think I could."

"No, that's okay. There's plenty of other places I can get sex if I wanted to, and you make me happy in lots of other ways."

Yggy smiled brightly, and to Rosie it seemed to illuminate the entire forest. "I do like the kissing, though," Yggy added. "We can keep doing that."

Rosie chuckled. "Don't mind if I do." And she leaned in, and...


	5. ?? Years Ago

Rosie sighed to herself as she sat on a rock in the middle of the forest. Hours of thinking, and she couldn't figure out what she actually wanted to do. But with each passing moment that she couldn't decide, she almost had the decision made for her. She wanted to ask for help, but the only person was...

A loud chime broke her solitude, and Rosie turned to look in its direction. Yggy was there, running up to see her. "How did it go? Did you find out what the man was up to?" she asked, her arms flailing excitedly as she ran.

"I did, in fact. He's going on a journey to find Estalucia," Rosie replied.

Yggy's eyes widened in amazement. They both knew _of_ Estalucia, but neither had been there, or were entirely sure it existed. It might have been the last holdout of the Astrals - the idea of the Astrals as their masters was long gone, but there could be amazing discoveries there, technology to help maintain their crystals, or even just beautiful structures they could never find elsewhere. "That sounds so impressive. So he's here for the Sky Map?"

Rosie nodded. "He says he doesn't want to use force, and I recommend not resisting him. He's a good man."

Yggy grinned. "If my love says so, then I trust you and him."

Love. The word stabbed Rosie in the heart. "Yggy, I have something I need to confess to you."

"What's up?" Yggy asked innocently, no fear in her expression.

"I... want to go with him."

Yggy sighed as she sat on the rock next to Rosie. Somehow, Rosie knew that Yggy anticipated this. "You want to see Estalucia for yourself too, don't you."

Rosie shook her head. "It's not just that. He's... he's one of the most fascinating skydwellers I've ever met. I really want to be with him. I might... love him."

Yggy waited without responding. When it became clear Rosie wasn't saying anything else, she prompted, "And?".

"Aren't you jealous? I promised I would stay with you forever, and now I'm saying there's someone else I want to be with too."

Yggy chimed in laughter. "You still love me though, right?"

"Absolutely. I wouldn't be so pained if I didn't."

"Then there's no problem. You go be with him, and when your time with him is up, come back here. I'll be waiting for you."

Rosie sniffled to hold back a tear she didn't realize was coming. "Promise you won't get lonely?" she asked as she leaned on Yggy's shoulder.

"I promise. I survived a thousand years without you, I'm sure I'll be fine for a couple of decades." She turned her head to kiss Rosie's hair. "Besides, you haven't had sex in a while, haven't you? Go take care of that."

Rosie blushed. "You don't have to put that fine a point on it!" she signed mock angrily.

Yggy's laugh chimed again, resounding with Rosie's heart. "I love you, Rosie. I know you love me too, and I want you to live a full and happy life. Go find Estalucia, and tell me all about it once you get back."

Rosie curled up closer to Yggy, holding her tight. "I promise."


End file.
